New Mexico Mercury

APD Killing of Homeless Man Alarming & Heartbreaking

The release of a video showing the latest Albuquerque police shooting and killing of a homeless man camping in a restricted area in the foothills of the Sandía Mountains casts yet more serious questions about one of the state’s largest law-enforcement agencies. Two Albuquerque Police Department (APD) officers each fired three shots at 38-year-old James Boyd, who police claim made threatening moves and refused to drop a knife in each of his hands.

The lack of resources and programs to help those who are struggling with mental-health issues is quite evident in incidents like these...

El Machete: WIPP Leak

WIPP Leak

Section K: Alternative Histories to the 2013-14 Lobo Basketball Season

A familiar feeling revisits us with the end of the basketball season. A Lobo team with the potential to advance to make history exits, what seems to be, early from the NCAA tournament. We are disappointed. Some are distraught. A few curse about years past.

Regardless of where you were Friday after the game--emotionally, not physically--we must realize that this season had the potential to be much different based on decisions made nearly a year ago. Here are some alternative histories to the 2013-14 season...

Insect Allies March Forth in Spring

Spring is here and the bugs are out. There are numerous beneficial organisms in every yard and this is the main reason, plus your safety, for not using synthetic pesticides. They can be beneficial in different ways. Some are pollinators and we certainly need them. Others feed on decaying or dead plant or animal matter and they are important as well. The most important for a gardener are the predators who feed on plant pests...

El Machete: Sister Megan Rice

Sister Megan Rice

The Scorecard on ABQ Sprawl

The Albuquerque region has been engaged in an epic growth battle for at least the past decade. Much of the struggle occurs in the city council chambers, in the county commission public hearings, and in water and air board meetings. The combatants are large landholders, property developers and businesses (think Chamber of Commerce and NAIOP) on one side, pitted against neighborhood activists, conservationists, smart businesses, planners and good government folks on the other.

One side wants business-as-usual (BAU) where the levers of public power can be manipulated for private gain.  The other side sees a very different future...

Never Connect the Dots

One of the things I never do is connect the dots. I also never follow the money, or listen for the other shoe to drop. This warm and numb attitude has made me the happy-go-lucky guy I am, a guy with an unwavering smile on my face even while I sleep.

This morning, after waking with my ever-present grin, I even laughed a little when I learned about Fantase Public Schools. They have started a new program up there called Engage Fantase to recapture students who have dropped out of school because they were bored with the public kind of education...

Weekly Poem: Cunt.Bomb.

the c is as insidious
as a paper cut
as pleasurable as a paper boat—
if you happen to know how to fold
one and let it ride

the u of it lies between your legs
look down lovingly
lucky you if you happen to have one...

The ACLU’s Border Checkpoint

Driving on 1-25 north of Las Cruces, New Mexico, motorists are forced to detour through a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint set up to enforce immigration and drug laws.  Often, a friendly agent will ask the vehicle occupant (s) to affirm U.S. citizenship status before sending the traveler on his or her way.  Occasionally, agents will simply peer into a car and wave travelers on without first asking questions. Other times, drivers are asked to pull over for a vehicle search that might include a go-over by a dope-sniffing dog.

On Wednesday, March 19, travelers heading north on 1-25 encountered another checkpoint for the first time ever: the “Know your Rights Checkpoint” organized by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)...

Political Science to the Rescue: A Scholar’s Look at the Status of Healthcare Reform

Next week is the deadline to sign up for health insurance under the nation’s new health care law and, once again, the rhetoric is heating up, both pro and con. Last week, Larry Jacobs, professor and chairman of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, entered these troubled waters here in New Mexico, bringing a fresh, analytical look at the implementation of the Affordable Care Act not just here, but throughout the country.

Jacobs spoke in Albuquerque, his presentation sponsored by UNM’s Robert Wood Johnson Center for Health Policy and the Scholars Strategy Network...